When Three Became Two
by Lil Badger 101
Summary: Post 'For Warrick'. NickGreg Friendship, sorry for the rubbish title! Nick is struggling to cope with the loss of one of his best friends, will he snap out of it before he loses the other? One shot. Hope it's ok : x


**A/N: What up fellow life forms! Just a quick idea for a one shot so I thought I'd write it down whilst I remembered it :P I'm sure it'll have been done before but not by me ;) So you'll never guess but it's a Greg and Nick friendship piece! Oh my god no way! ;) Please, I don't do anything else! Anyways I'll stop talking to myself now and I hope you enjoy!**

**Let me know if it's ok or maybe it just totally sucks! :) xx**

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Three days. Or to be more specific, seventy four hours, forty eight minutes and twenty six seconds since I found out my best friend had died. No not died… had been _murdered_.

I was seriously not prepared for work today. I just couldn't be bothered. I've barely slept or ate, all I could think about was Warrick and how I never really got to say goodbye.

"Hey Nick" a voice I recognise to be Greg's says to me. He appears in the locker room door way "I was wondering if…" I walk straight past him not in the mood to talk. "Oh, maybe later then…" I hear him say in a small disappointed voice and he walks in the opposite direction to me.

I've forgotten about the whole incident by the time I get back from my crime scene. Grissom had given me a solo case since I'd made it pretty clear by my silence I wasn't in the mood to work with anyone or even to be talked too. I came back and dropped off my evidence before going to the break room to start my report.

I get about two sentences in before leaning back in my seat and tapping my pen absentmindedly against the table top, just staring at the wall and watching people walk on by the window like nothing has happened. Does anyone care except me? I can't take this ignorance anymore and decide I need some air. I quickly scribble down the rest of my report before heading back into the hall.

I bump into Greg; he looks flustered with his arms filled with evidence bags.

"Hey Sanders can you do me a favour" Sanders? What the hell I never call Greg by his last name, Warrick did…

"Sure what is it?" he says politely but then stumbles a little as he tries to keep everything balanced in his arms.

"Well could you give this report to Grissom and tell him I've gone on a break" I say putting the papers on top of his pile "and then could you go to Hodges to collect my evidence…oh and Wendy too."

"Well I…" Greg starts but I cut him off.

"Thanks, I appreciate it" I say and quickly walk off before I get wrapped up in something else.

I return about an hour later after just walking a massive circle around town. I decided to come back after driving myself crazy because I'd walk passed places thinking _that was Warrick's favourite casino… that was his favourite bar…_ God I miss him so much.

I sit down on one of the benches in the locker room and just stare at the locker that used to belong to Warrick. I find myself opening the door to it not aware of the movement of my own feet. I find a photo stuck in the door of him, Greg and me at some bar. It makes me miss him even more. I put the photo in my pocket and sit back down on the bench burying my head in my hands. The movement of feet a few minutes later signals another presence in the room.

"Hey Nick I…" It's Greg. I drop my hands from my face but I don't look up at him. "Are you ok?" he asks concernedly. Am I _ok? _ God I am so sick of that question!

"No Greg I am not _ok_" I reply angrily jumping up off the bench "My best friend was murdered a few days ago and I'm expected to go on as normal and nobody else seems to give a damn! So no genius I am not ok!" I'm full on yelling by the end. Greg looks at me wide eyed in fright and clutches the files he's carrying closer to his chest. I exhale deeply before storming out the room.

My pager beeps and I growl in fury. I just want to go home; this day just feels like it's never going to end. I pull it out and read the message saying Grissom has a suspect he wants me to talk to.

I head over to the interrogation rooms and find Brass stood outside waiting for me.

"Guys name is Martin Blake. His friend Chris Richards was found in his bedroom, apparent suicide but circumstances seem a bit suspicious." Brass explains and he hands me a file, I nod in understanding and we enter the room.

"Mister Richards why do you think your friend might have committed suicide?" I ask as soon as we've sat ourselves down. They guy looks pretty normal not like any killer I'd seen. Mind you due to recent events I think it's pretty clear you can trust no one if the circumstances are right…

"I don't know man…" he replies in a shaky voice, he's obviously been crying and is really upset. "I mean his girlfriend just died in a car accident but I never expected him to do this…we've been best friends since high school I should of seen something wasn't right with him."

"So you didn't notice him acting differently?" I press on.

"Well yeah it was just small things…like he'd ignore me because his mind was always somewhere else…"

"_Oh, maybe later then…" _

Just like when I ignored Greg…I blink a few times as the flash back from earlier today hits me. "Erm…what else?" I ask trying to gain focus again.

"Well whenever I forced him to listen to me he'd try and make up any excuse to get rid of me. He'd get me to do some pretty stupid stuff…he just wouldn't listen."

"_Well could you give this report to Grissom and tell him I've gone on a break…."_

"_Well I..."_

God this situation sounds horribly familiar. I'd asked Greg to do all that stuff for me even though he was blatantly busy…

"But the worst part was how he yelled at me. Just exploded at random intervals...he was just so angry all the time."

"_So no genius I am not ok!"_

Oh God…the way Greg had looked at me, like I'd punched him in the face. He's been very sensitive to yelling since he got beat up. The fear in his eyes, fear I had caused, but deeper than that there was…sadness. I realise how red they had looked how dark they looked, marked from tiredness and crying… just like my own…

The realisation hits me like a train.

"I tried to help and be understanding. I may have seemed ok but inside it was killing me. I mean I know Jayne was his girlfriend but she was my friend too you know, when do I get my chance to grieve…" the man looks down at the floor and sniffs.

I've got to find Greg.

"I have to go" I say pushing my seat back and running from the room before Brass can try and stop me.

I run frantically through the hall looking in every room for Greg.

I had ignored him. I had taken advantage of him making him do my work and I'd yelled at him. What I'd failed to remember was that Warrick was Greg's friend too and he needed to grieve just as much as I did. He was probably feeling just as alone with Warrick gone and now me pushing him away. He probably felt just as angry, scared and confused but was hiding it for everyone else's sake, for my sake. He was totally putting his own feelings a side and being there for me, he shouldn't have to do that and more importantly I should be there for him.

I run past the locker room but then end up running back when I hear sniffs coming from within. Greg sits on the bench rubbing his eyes and looking helplessly at the floor. I doubt he's moved since I yelled at him. I quietly make my way towards him and sit down slightly far away so I won't startle him.

Greg looks up at me and just as I thought I see the red rings and the dark bags surrounding his eyes.

"I miss Warrick" he whispers and looks back down to the floor.

"Me too" I whisper just as quietly before sliding over to him and pulling him towards me for a hug. He leans against my chest and I place my head on top of his. "I'm so sorry Greggo…" I reply rubbing his back as he shakes lightly "I've been so blinded by the fact that one of my best friends is missing I've ignored the fact my other one is still here. I know you need me just as much as I need you and I'm sorry for not being there and acting so selfish and like a total jerk. "

"It's ok" he replies quietly "I understand, you're upset."

"Yeah and so are you, but you haven't lost it with me. And for that I'm so grateful." I say sincerely.

"Nick you don't have to say all this…I know I can never be as much as a friend to you as Warrick was but that's ok…" my heart breaks a little when he says this. I need him to understand.

I pull the photo from my pocket.

"There are three people in this photo Greg…" I say holding it so he can see. "Or as I like to think of it the three musketeers." I say with a smile and he gives a weak laugh. "So don't you think for a _second _that Warrick and I didn't care about you as much as we did each other. Because we both love you like our little brother who we vowed to always look after and protect."

Greg pulls away and looks me in the eyes…he smiles. "Thanks Nick" he says quietly "You guys are the brothers I've always wanted and I don't know where I'd without you."

"You're welcome buddy" I say with a smile. "And I'm sorry again, from now on we go through this together and I am one hundred percent hear for you." I'm just so glad I snapped out of it before I lost Greg too, I'm so glad we have each other.

Greg hugs me again and I hug him back, we need the support right now.

"I know Warrick won't ever really leave us…" Greg says after a few minutes of silence. "We're going to be ok… aren't we?"

"Yes" I say confidently clinging onto my little bother to let him know I'll always be there. "Yes we are."

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**Review please? Good things will happen :3 xx Love ya!**

**Lil Badger 101 xx **


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